Pokemon SoulSilver Gijinka Nuzlocke
by Hannibal-Necromancer97
Summary: Being a trainer is a lot harder than one would think... (Humanized Pokémon abound for storytelling reasons.) (Rated T for mild language, fantasy violence, and momentary bouts of death.) (Spoilers to Pokémon SoulSilver for the twelve of you that haven't played Gen II, but events are slightly out of order.)
1. The Journey Begins, Enter Trainer!

It was springtime in Littleroot Town. A nice, crisp morning allowed me to keep the window in my room open. Or at least it would have, but I was just getting ready to leave by this time. Leaving the window open would only invite burglars, so I left it shut.

I took one last look at himself in the mirror as I made sure I had everything I needed. Bag, check; lucky hat, check; change of clothes, check; Pokégear, not back from the shop yet - I'd grab it before I left town. Satisfied with the checklist, I half-ran down the stairs. "Bye, Mom," I called into the kitchen as he passed, "love you!"

"Wait!" I stopped and turned around long enough to get caught in one of my mom's crushing hugs. She was a really nice person, but she was as strong as a Machoke at her calmest. I'm not even sure why I was worried about burglars earlier; she could take care of herself just fine. I gasped for air, signaling her to release me. "You have everything you need?"

"Already finished double-checking."

"Clothes?" Yes. "Socks?" At least three pairs. "Wallet?" Yes. "Journal?"

"My journal?"

She shrugged. "Most trainers like to keep a record of their progress, apparently. It's on the table with your ID."

I quickly patted myself down before jogging to the table. Lo and behold, there sat my Trainer's License on top of a plain black composition notebook. I hadn't actually written anything in it yet, but Mom made a convincing enough argument for me to take it with me. "There. _Now_ that's everything."

"Be careful, son."

"IwillIloveyoumombye!" I retreated to the safety of outside before she could hug me again. As I turned away from the now closed door, I was greeted by a head of blue hair in a dress, whom I welcomed in kind. "Hey, Zuzu."

"Hi, Gold!" she greeted back.

/-/

You seem a little confused. About how this Marill is a person, or maybe just how I'm now addressing you. I'll explain.

I'm no expert, but in your world - and yes, it _is_ most likely different from mine - pokémon are little more than a bunch of animals that can breathe fire or shoot lightning, right? Or maybe pokémon don't exist in your world outside the realm of fantasy? I don't know. What I do know is that in my world, pokémon are a set of humanoids with those same sort of abilities. Each type - fire, water, etc. - can be viewed in the same vein as human nationalities - Kantoan, Johtoan, etc. (I'm sure you refer to your world's nationalities differently) - and each kind - Rattata, Zubat, etc. - can be seen sort of like large extended families. We train them to control their powers, and only fight as necessary, or organize special matches in the League Challenge. There's a little more to it, but there's more story to go through, so I'll just try to explain as we go.

Oh, and about the fourth wall? I can't really explain that. Every time I bring it up people act like I'm crazy, so let's just keep this between you and me. Okay?

/-/

"You and Lyra playing Hide-and-Seek again?" I asked.

"A-ha!" As if on cue, a considerably taller head of brown appeared from around the corner. With little warning, she pounced at Zuzu, who expertly dodged out of the way.

"Too slow!" The Marill laughed, bounding away with glee.

"Get back here!" the girl shouted. "I'm not gonna be it forever and you know it!"

She stood and dusted herself off with a sigh. "Morning, Lyra," I greeted finally.

"Morning, Gold," she returned.

"Tag?"

"Tag." She threw what she could of her hands into the pockets of her short shorts as she turned to face me. "So, where're you off to so early?"

"I swear, you're such a kid sometimes..." I muttered before answering, "I'm starting my first day as a trainer today."

"Sounds like a time." She smiled, then added, "If I were you, though, I'd look into getting some of Elm's advice. He helps out all new trainers like that, if you don't mind running the occasional errand for him."

"I'll be sure to stop by."

"Good luck on your journey."

I nodded. "Good luck with your game of tag." I smiled at her reaction as she ran off in the other direction, trying to find her ward. With that, I made the short walk over to the Pokémon Lab, a large building with clean, polished glass in the windows and a set of double doors. The inside of the lab was sterile white with the exception of a few large computer towers lining the walls, as well as other various pieces of apparatus. Elm's assistant - I'm pretty sure his name was Roy - darted to-and-fro, running several tests at once at at least six different stations. "Excuse me," I said, reluctant to interrupt something that seemed so important, "do you know where Professor Elm is?"

"Hm?" Roy answered, not actually bothering to stop. "Oh, the professor is at the back of the lab," he adjusted the focus on one of the many microscopes he was in charge of, "Running physical examinations on the new pokémon."

"Thanks." I walked that way past a handful of machines. Sure enough, Professor Elm was sitting in his favorite swivel chair, jotting notes on a clipboard as he put three young pokémon through their paces. "Hey, Prof," I greeted, "what's going on?"

He looked up from his research, adjusting his glasses. "Ah, Gold! Just who I wanted to see. I need a guinea pig for a test I'm conducting."

I gave him a look. "It's not going to be invasive, is it?"

Elm chuckled. "No, nothing like that. I'm not _that_ kind of scientist. You're starting your job as a trainer today, right?" I nodded. "Perfect!" His computer beeped, and he rolled over to check. "Eh?" He turned back to me. "It seems you have the opportunity to help me with two things today."

"What do you need?"

"Well, I have this friend - people call him 'Mr. Pokémon' because he claims to know all there is to know about them without actually being one; he's got something he thought I might like to see. But he refuses to tell me what it is, and I can't go out to get it because I'm swamped with work. That's where you come in."

"You need me to go pick up whatever Mr. Pokémon has for you?" I guessed.

"You hit that nail on the head, Gold. You'd be doing me a big favor by doing this."

"Alright, so what's the other thing?"

"Yes, the experiment." He cleared his throat. "Gold, do you know what I do here?"

I nodded. "You study growth rates and patterns of pokémon as compared to humans. Everyone knows that."

"Precisely, and it's those points of focus that have led me to my current hypothesis. I believe that, some distant time ago, people and pokémon lived even more closely than today. Somewhere down the line, the concept of "pokémon trainers" was established to allow the safe growth of pokémon's abilities, which is the symbiotic relationship we see today." He flips up the top page of his notes as he continues, "However, the data I've been collecting shows that this has had some detrimental effect on the _physical_ growth of certain families of pokémon, causing them to reach peak maturity later in life." He turns up another page, reviewing the third before returning his papers to the correct order. "Something is suddenly... _missing,_ now that the roles have shifted. Humans are no longer seen as equals, but educators. The same closeness we once had with our powerful neighbors has gone, and it's had an enduring impact on so many. It's sad, really, but there may be hope yet."

He rolled back to the three pokémon he'd been testing. "I want you to take one of these youngsters with you. I've got all the lab data I'll need to compare with whatever you observe."

I looked over the three pokémon. The first was the Chikorita, Chi-Chi, a girl in a light green shirt with a bit of a cowlick in her moss-colored hair. She looked like she'd be pleased with whatever outcome crossed her path. Next was the Cyndaquil, Samael, a boy in a yellow shirt and teal jacket with dark red stains on the back, possibly from the clay in the dirt around town. Elm liked to keep them active, it seemed. Last was Tord, a redheaded Totodile that wouldn't even spare me a second glance. Punk never did like me.

I said before that pokémon types could be seen as parallel to human nationalities. It probably helps to mention that Fire-, Water-, and Grass-types have been shown in group studies to be more agreeable toward would-be trainers like me. That's why they tend to be assigned as so-called "starter pokémon": it makes it easier on newbies to have someone more-or-less compliant so they can learn. With notable exceptions, of course.

I shot Tord a glare before standing upright. "I'm thinking of a number between one and nine. Whoever gets closest without going over gets to come with me." All but Tord stared at me intently, like they were trying to read my mind. A full ten seconds passed before they made their guesses.

"Five!" Chi-Chi called out.

"Nine," Tord said, clearly not wanting a thing to do with me.

Sam kept his eyes fixed on me a little longer. I was pretty sure he was going to bore a hole through me with - "Three."

 **Samael**  
Cyndaquil, M  
Blaze  
Rash, Loves to eat

I grinned. "Three's the magic number. Let's go, Sam."

"Alright, you two," Elm dismissed the others, "back to your activities. I have to speak with Samael and Gold for a moment."

"Okay. Bye, Sam!"

"...See you."

They walked off, leaving Sam alone with the professor and me. "Now, about that errand: Mr. Pokémon lives just past Cherrygrove. Make a right on Route 30 and he's right there. I recommend stopping at Cherrygrove Mart to stock up on supplies should you need them."

"Got it, Prof," I assured. "Anything else?"

Elm rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I don't actually have the go-ahead to perform this study en masse, so you two are going to serve as my proof-of-concept. That means I need the two of you to be on your best behavior. Officially, you're still trainer and ward, but you're going to do everything from now on as pure equals. No pulling rank, no threats of incineration, none of that.

"And besides," he smirks, leaning back, "From what I've heard, you could both use some more friends in your lives, so think of this as an opportunity."

"Gee," Sam and I deadpanned together, "thanks."

Once we realized what had happened, we couldn't help but smile. "See?" Elm said, "Fastest friends I've ever seen!"

"Take care, Professor," Sam chuckled.

We went to leave, but Roy actually stopped me this time. "Wait!" I turned, and he tossed me a paper box. "It's a spray for minor cuts and bruises. You should mostly be dealing with those anyway while you're out."

"Thanks."

I was finally allowed to exit, and I found Lyra and Zuzu waiting outside. "Gold!" I met her halfway from my spot at the door. "So you're taking Sam with you?"

"Yeah, we're going to look after each other."

Zuzu gave Sam a small wave, which he returned. "Zuz," he greeted. "Long time no talk?"

"I know," she answered, "It's been forever!"

"You still live on the south side?"

"Yeah, Lyra and I both."

"We were just going to head up to Violet City," Lyra said. "There's a trainer's school there and Zuzu wanted to sightsee a little bit."

"It's the only place you can get fresh croissant sandwiches anymore," Zuzu explained. "Everywhere else throws those fake frozen things at their customers."

Sam scratched his chin. "I may have to check it out if we're out that way."

Zuzu smiled, "I'll be waiting!"

/-/

 _May 10, 20XX_

 _I met my ward, Samael, today. He's a nice kid, a little younger than me. Elm wants us to speak with his friend, Mr. Pokémon, before we head out and about. We got to Cherrygrove, and Sam just loved the Pokémon Center. Can't say I blame him._

 _Some old man gave us a tour of town when we arrived. When we finished, he said he had a brand-new set of running shoes. I'm not just gonna turn down a gift like that! And when we went to leave, he chased us down and gave me a map card!_

 _That reminds me: I still need to pick up my Pokégear from the shop. Elm said to call if there was a development. I'm sure Mr. Pokémon will let me use his phone._


	2. A Surprising Development

After a quick walk down Route 31, Sam and I reached Mr. Pokémon's house. We were greeted outside by the man himself. "Hello," he said. "You must be the ones Professor Elm sent, yes?"

"Yeah, that's us," I confirmed. "You said you have something for him?"

"I believe I said 'I have something he'll want to see.' Or rather, I suppose it would be 'some _one_.' " He led us inside. The room was decorated in research books, and an old computer sat at the back. There we met two more people. "This is Professor Oak, he's the head of pokéanthropology at the Kanto Science Lab."

"A pleasure to meet you."

 _"Oak_ is here?" I asked incredulously. "What is _Professor Friggin' Oak_ doing here?!"

"I get that a lot," Oak said patiently. He shook my hand. "I guess my reputation simply precedes me wherever I go."

"No kidding. You're the top researcher for human-pokémon relations. I'm pretty sure there's a _statue_ of you somewhere!"

"Oak is here for our other guest," Mr. Pokémon answered. He gestured to the woman sitting across from Oak. She had the sharp features attributed to Flying-type pokémon, but seemed to have smoothed and softened with age. She wore a white dress with blue and red shapes covering it, and the same colors sat at the ends of her hair. "This is Brigid Grace. Her husband works with the head of the Sinnoh Pokémon League, who is visiting Johto on business." I gently shook her hand, finally noticing the bulge in her stomach. "She's eight months pregnant."

I looked at him. "What's so special about that?"

Sam spoke up. "You humans like to talk about pregnancy whenever it happens with someone close. Pokémon, surprise surprise, are different. The level of it varies across cultures, but generally, we like to keep noise concerning pregnancies to a minimum."

Professor Oak nodded. "With respect, no human has ever witnessed a pokémon in childbirth. Mrs. Grace has agreed to allow Mr. Pokémon, Professor Elm, and myself to oversee the process for scientific purposes. Professor Birch, as head of pokébiology in Hoenn, is coming to scribe the details. He lives for this sort of thing."

"So why couldn't you just tell Elm all of this in your email?" I asked, "I'm sure he would have come right over."

"This is sensitive information," Mr. Pokémon said. "If word spread about a group of humans getting to see a pokémon birth, there'd be a riot all across the regions! Oak had to speak with Birch at his home in Littleroot to relay this."

"I guess Mr. Grace is okay with this?" Sam inquired.

Mrs. Grace nodded. "He supports my decision. Our species know too little about each other; I hope to close that gap however I can."

"Now, Gold, this is important. I need you to deliver this information directly to Elm; as late as it is, it'd be a lot safer for you to leave in the morning. Don't stop to tell anyone else - not your friends, not your parents." Mr. Pokémon adjusted his tie. "If word of this gets out into the public, we may very well lose this opportunity."

I gulped. _That's a lot of responsibility._ "Yes, sir."

"Good man."

Professor Oak spoke up, breaking the tense silence that had started to build up after that. "Would you two care for a snack? Mrs. Grace made brownies."

Sam started to drool. "Ehm... Maybe just one or two? We haven't eaten since Cherrygrove, after all."

/-/

Mr. Pokémon let us stay overnight at his place, then it was off to Elm's lab again the next morning. The two of us made it back to Cherrygrove by lunch, so we took a quick break at the diner before continuing on. I began to ask Sam some questions about himself, figuring I should at least know who I'll be dealing with for the next good long while. "So," I said, deciding to start small, "You and Zuzu?"

Sam almost choked on his milkshake. I wasn't starting small enough, apparently. "Sorry, what?"

But, as bad as I am at small talk, I was genuinely curious. "Are you two...?"

"We're close friends," he said almost too quickly, "but she's, uh... not exactly my type, y'know?"

"So, 'no' then?" He shook his head, wiping his face with a napkin. Coughing up his drink seemed like an overreaction to me, but I didn't vocalize the thought. I decided to stray from that line of questioning. "What's life at the lab like?"

"Smooth transition, Gold..." He muttered, and shrugged. "It's not so bad; Elm's a nice guy, and Lyra and Zuzu come to visit when they can, just like you do. It's just the... _waiting,_ always made me a little anxious. You know why pokémon get trainers, right?"

I nodded. "As we get older," Sam said, making sure I actually understood, "pokémon begin to develop their abilities. Different groups develop at different rates but, generally speaking, Fire-, Water-, and Grass-types develop pretty fast, right behind Bug-types, who usually can go without trainers anyway, and Normal-types.

"We get trainers so we can better control our abilities; trainers are always human because you don't get these kinds of powers. If we don't keep it together, we're liable to seriously hurt people, or worse..." He took a slow sip of his shake. "So knowing we're partnered with a human helps us remember to keep ourselves in check. Kind of a... what was the word Elm used? I'll think of it later.

"But," Sam steepled his fingers in front of himself, "enough about me. You asked about me and Zuz, so what about you? You have a...?"

"No," I answered. "I don't have a girlfriend. "

"Really? I thought for sure you and Lyra...?"

Thankfully for me, we were interrupted by a commotion outside. I left some cash on the table and we went to check it out. There in the middle of town was Tord, who looked like he had seen better days. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he barely seemed to know where he was. "Tord!" Sam called as we approached. He grabbed Tord by the shoulders to try and calm him down.

"Get off of me!" Tord growled, shoving him into me.

"Gah! What the hell's wrong with -!" Sam's eyes widened as realization struck him. "...Already?"

The Water-type cracked his knuckles. "This has been a long time coming."

He leapt forward, sharp claws sticking out of the ends of his fingers as Sam blew out a thick cloud of black smoke. I pulled Sam to the side, causing Tord's attack to narrowly miss. Another puff of smoke allowed us to beat a hasty retreat towards the trail leading home. We ducked down in the tall grass, waiting for Tord to come and find us. Thankfully, he never did.

"What was all that?" I panted, double-checking the town entrance.

"Weren't you paying attention to what I was saying in the diner? Tord's gone wild," he explained. "Basically, those abilities I was talking about came in before he was assigned a trainer. Without that extra guidance, he probably thinks he could fight the whole world. He's gonna be dangerous until someone teaches him some control."

"Which, knowing Tord, won't be any time soon."

"Yeah..." Sam stood with a sigh. "Come on. In his state of mind, he's not liable to follow us back to the Lab."

/-/

We ran through Route 29, hopping down the ledges between towns to save time, and eventually made it back to New Bark. Police cars were parked around Elm's lab. Chi-Chi, Roy, and the Professor were all being questioned when we approached. "...I was only running the tests I regularly do," Elm explained. "It hadn't even occurred to me that he'd been without a trainer for so long -."

"Professor!" I greeted as I approached. "We were just attacked by Tord in Cherrygrove. Sam filled me in on the way back about his condition."

"Then you're aware that wild pokémon can be incredibly dangerous," the officer said. "Did you see where this 'Tord' was headed?"

"North, I think. Towards Violet City." I looked at Elm. "I don't think he knows about Mr. Pokémon's house."

"No, no, he shouldn't," Elm assured. "I never shared the location with Sam and the others. Mr. Pokémon is very secretive; I'm honestly surprised he let you inside to begin with."

"Speaking of him," Sam said to the policeman, "we need to talk to the Professor. We're helping him with his research."

"I think we have the information we need, anyway. Don't worry, Professor, we'll find him."

The officer rounded the others up before they all drove off, leaving us outside the lab. Elm led us into his home, which sat squarely on top of the laboratory. The living room was quite big, with a large table in the middle between a pair of couches. A short dividing wall jutted from the back, separating the living area from the kitchen and hallway. "Come in and sit; Edna and Jacob are with her mother in Mahogany Town right now." We each took a seat. "So, what did Mr. Pokémon have for me?"

/-/

Elm took a sip of his coffee. "So a pokémon from Sinnoh is willing to let four men of science observe her as she gives birth. Is that about right?"

"That's the short version," I answered, "yes."

"This is unprecedented! I can see now why he refused to share over correspondence. Who all knows?"

"Just us," Sam informed. "Can't say I'm keen on it, but I hardly have a say, do I?"

"I thank you for understanding, Samael. The benefits this knowledge brings will only be used in good faith. Mr. Pokémon may wish to write an essay on the matter, but I trust he'll keep Mrs. Grace anonymous. I can't expect everyone to be happy with the decision, but I'm glad you at least don't oppose it.

"Now," Elm stood, "I have to send my response to the others, and make sure Chi-Chi is okay. If that's everything, Gold, I'm sure your mother is worried sick. You were out and about when Tord left, after all."

/-/

 _May 11, 20XX_

 _When we went to talk to Mr. Pokémon, he introduced us to_ _Professor Oak_ _of all people, and we learned what was so important he had to show Elm: a pregnant pokémon from Sinnoh. She's going to let Oak, Elm, Birch, and Mr. Pokémon study her when she gives birth (kinda gross, but that's science)._

 _On our way back, we found Tord had gotten free of the lab. Apparently, trainers are more important to pokémon than I thought. Sam explained to me that Tord had "gone wild," which makes him dangerous. I never liked him anyway._

 _Okay, a little harsh, but he was kind of a jerk when he was sane._

 _It was late when we got back, so we decided to head to my house. Mom had my fixed Pokégear, so I have that going for me. Little things, you know? Tomorrow we start for Violet City!_

/-/

The Seer held his head as the vision came. A boy - barely old enough to be called a man - was to embark on a quest; his destination uncertain, he would see the League crumble with the help and hardship of six pokémon.

"What is it?" asked his comrade: the sultry, feminine voice of the shadows.

"A trainer," he answered. "I don't know his name, but it seems he intends to see our downfall."

"Hmm... If that's the case, I'm sure our fearless leader would like to -"

"That won't be necessary. Falkner will take care of him. He's been requesting an opportunity like this for a while now anyway; I'm sure he can handle it."


End file.
